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The Crucible of Close Combat in Large-Scale Combat Operations Edited by Col The Crucible of Close Combat in Large-Scale Combat Operations Edited by Col. Paul E. Berg LARGE-SCALE COMBAT OPERATIONS SERIES Army University Press Cover image: As part of the World War II Bougainville Campaign in the South Pacific, US 129th Infantry Regiment troops advance with an M4 tank during the March 1944 Japanese counterattack on the US lodgement near Torokina. (Courtesy of US Army.) Original tear graphic: Designed by Layerace/Freepik, freepik.com Original paper texture: Created by Freepik, freepik.com Composite cover design: Arin L. Burgess, Army University Press This book is part of The US Army Large-Scale Combat Operations Series, which includes: Weaving the Tangled Web: Military Deception in Large-Scale Combat Operations Bringing Order to Chaos: Historical Case Studies of Combined Arms Maneuver in Large-Scale Combat Operations Lethal and Non-Lethal Fires: Historical Case Studies of Converging Cross-Domain Fires in Large-Scale Combat Operations The Long Haul: Historical Case Studies of Sustainment in Large-Scale Combat Operations Deep Maneuver: Historical Case Studies of Maneuver in Large-Scale Combat Operations Into the Breach: Historical Case Studies of Mobility Operations in Large-Scale Combat Operations Perceptions Are Reality: Historical Case Studies of Information Operations in Large-Scale Combat Operations The Competitive Advantage: Historical Case Studies of Special Operations Forces in Large-Scale Combat Operations The Last 100 Yards: the Crucible of Close Combat in Large-Scale Combat Operations The Last 100 Yards The Crucible of Close Combat in Large-Scale Combat Operations Edited by Col. Paul E. Berg Army University Press Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Berg, Paul E., 1970–, editor. | Army University Press (U.S.), issuing body. Title: The last 100 yards: the crucible of close combat in large-scale combat operations / edited by Paul E. Berg. Other titles: Last 100 yards (Army University Press (U.S.) | Crucible of close combat in large-scale combat | Last one hundred yards. Description: 1st edition. | Fort Leavenworth, Kansas : Army University Press, 2019. | Series: US Army large-scale combat operations series | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2019011717 (print) | LCCN 2019012664 (ebook) | ISBN 9781940804569 (print). Subjects: LCSH: Combat sustainability (Military science)--History--20th century--Case studies. | Operational art (Military science)--History--20th century--Case studies. | Hand-to-hand fighting--History--20th century-- Case studies. | United States--History, Military--20th century--Case studies. Classification: LCC U102 (ebook) | LCC U102 .L33 2019 (print) | DDC 355.40904--dc23 | SUDOC D 110.20:C 73. LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/201901171. July 2019 Army University Press publications cover a variety of military history topics. The views expressed in this Army University Press publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense. A full list of Army University Press publications is available at https://www. armyupress.army.mil/Books/. The seal of the Army University Press authenticates this document as an official publication of the Army University Press. It is prohibited to use the Army University Press’ official seal on any republication without the express written permission of the Director of the Army University Press. Editor Diane R. Walker iv Foreword Since the Soviet Union’s fall in 1989, the specter of large-scale ground combat against a peer adversary was remote. During the years following, the US Army found itself increasingly called upon to lead multinational op- erations in the lower to middle tiers of the range of military operations and conflict continuum. The events of 11 September 2001 led to more than 15 years of intense focus on counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and stability operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. An entire generation of Army leaders and Soldiers were culturally imprinted by this experience. We emerged as an Army more capable in limited contingency operations than at any time in our nation’s history, but the geopolitical landscape continues to shift and the risk of great power conflict is no longer a remote possibility. While our Army focused on limited contingency operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, other regional and peer adversaries scru- tinized US military processes and methods and adapted their own accord- ingly. As technology has proliferated and become accessible in even the most remote corners of the world, the US military’s competitive advantage is being challenged across all of the warfighting domains. In the last de- cade, we have witnessed an emergent China, a revanchist and aggressive Russia, a menacing North Korea, and a cavalier Iranian regime. Each of these adversaries seeks to change the world order in their favor and contest US strategic interests abroad. The chance for war against a peer or region- al near-peer adversary has increased exponentially, and we must rapidly shift our focus to successfully compete in all domains and across the full range of military operations. Over the last two years, the US Army has rapidly shifted the focus of its doctrine, training, education, and leader development to increase read- iness and capabilities to prevail in large-scale ground combat operations against peer and near-peer threats. Our new doctrine, Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations, dictates that the Army provide the joint force four unique strategic roles: shaping the security environment, preventing conflict, pre- vailing in large-scale combat operations, and consolidating gains to make temporary success permanent. To enable this shift of focus, the Army is now attempting to change its culture shaped by more than fifteen years of persistent limited-contingen- cy operations. Leaders must recognize that the hard-won wisdom of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is important to retain but does not fully square with the exponential lethality, hyperactive chaos, and accelerated tempo of the multi-domain battlefield when facing a peer or near-peer adversary. v To emphasize the importance of the Army’s continued preparation for large-scale combat operations, the US Army Combined Arms Center has published these volumes of The US Army Large-Scale Combat Operations Series book set. The intent is to expand the knowledge and understand- ing of the contemporary issues the US Army faces by tapping our orga- nizational memory to illuminate the future. The reader should reflect on these case studies to analyze each situation, identify the doctrines at play, evaluate leaders’ actions, and determine what differentiated success from failure. Use them as a mechanism for discussion, debate, and intellectual examination of lessons of the past and their application to today’s doctrine, organization, and training to best prepare the Army for large-scale combat. Relevant answers and tangible reminders of what makes us the world’s greatest land power await in the stories of these volumes. Prepared for War! Michael D. Lundy Lieutenant General, US Army Commanding General US Army Combined Arms Center vi Contents Foreword ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� v Illustrations ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ix Introduction ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� xi Chapter 1—“¡Arriba Muchachos!”: The Fight for Hill 167 in Korea, 18–19 July 1952 by Lt. Gen. (Retired) Daniel P. Bolger ������������������������������������������������������ 1 Chapter 2—Attacking Unsupported: The 36th Infantry Division at the Rapido River, 20–22 January 1944 by Christopher M. Rein ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19 Chapter 3—2 Para and the Battle of Darwin-Goose Green, May 1982 by Lt. Col. (Retired) Thomas G. Bradbeer ��������������������������������������������� 37 Chapter 4—Breaking the German Encirclement at Leningrad: Operation Spark, January 1943 by Robert F. Baumann ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 63 Chapter 5—The Defense of Gallipoli: Suvla Bay Operations by Lt. Col. George S. Patton Jr. �������������������������������������������������������������� 85 Chapter 6—Tough Jobs: The Death and Rebirth of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, November–December 1950 by Col. (Retired) Kevin C. M. Benson ������������������������������������������������� 103 Chapter 7—Defeat from Victory: Korea 1950 by Lt. Col. (Retired) Robert J. Rielly ����������������������������������������������������117 Chapter 8—The Battle of Bretteville l’Orgueilleuse: The Assault of Kampfgruppe Meyer/Wunsche, 8–9 June 1944 by Capt. (Canadian Army) Arthur W. Gullachsen �������������������������������� 143 Chapter 9—Battle of Bataan, 1942: Security Force Assistance in the Close Combat Fight by Maj. Mark J. Balboni ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 169 Chapter 10—Surgeons to the Front: Twentieth-Century Warfare and the Metamorphosis of Battlefield Surgery by Thomas S. Helling and W. Sanders Marble ������������������������������������� 191 Chapter 11—Assured Mobility and River Crossing Operations by Lt. Col. (Retired) Keith R. Beurskens �����������������������������������������������211 vii Chapter 12—The Meuse-Argonne, 1918: Company-Level Close Combat, the Beginnings
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